18 Spanish Insults and Curses You Should Know
Let’s hope no one tells you, “Eres tan feo/a que hiciste llorar a una cebolla” on your next trip abroad.
![This onion is upset.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3838,h_2158,x_0,y_0/c_fill,w_752,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/voltaxMediaLibrary/mmsport/mentalfloss/01j1x195ta1na61rys8q.jpg)
Few sayings are as colorful as a Spanish insult (though French and German might come close). Some read like a grocery list jammed full of eggs, asparagus, cookies, and milk. Some go after your parents—others, your intelligence. Here are a few insults and curses to help (or hinder) you on your travels.
- Peinabombillas
- Malparido/a
- Pendejo/a
- Me cago en …
- Hijo de las mil putas
- Pollas en vinagre
- Me importa un pepino
- Que te folle un pez
- Que te la pique un pollo
- Vete a freír espárragos
- Hostia
- Te voy a dar una galleta
- Eres tan feo/a que hiciste llorar a una cebolla
- Eres más feo/a que pegarle a un padre
- Más corto/a que las mangas de un chaleco
- Más tonto/a que mear contra el viento
- La concha de la lora
- No me toques los huevos
Peinabombillas
![One Spanish insult involves light bulbs.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/w_480/images/GettyImages/mmsport/mentalfloss/01j24xnevrj02fmc5wh1.jpg)
A compound of peinar (“to comb”) and bombillas (“light bulbs”), this insult is used to call someone “naïve” or “stupid,” as combing light bulbs is, of course, an impossible and silly activity.
Malparido/a
This insult is another compound word made by combining mal (“badly”) with parido (“given birth”). This corresponds to the English “son of a bitch” or “bastard.”
Pendejo/a
This word has been around since the 1400s and translates to “pubic hair,” a meaning it still has today—but it’s also used, mainly in Latin America, to call someone “idiot” or “coward.”
Me cago en …
Me cago en … is one of the most versatile Spanish profanities: It translates to “I shit on …” (or, occasionally, “I shit in ... ”), and you can finish the sentence however you want. Depending on the follow-up, it can be used when you’re frustrated or angry—like “damn it” or “fucking hell”—or when you want to cuss out someone else—like “fuck you.” Some common variations are:
VARIATION ON ME CAGO EN ... | TRANSLATION |
---|---|
Me cago en todo lo que se menea | “I shit on everything that moves” |
Me cago en la leche | “I shit in the milk” |
Me cago en Dios | “I shit on God” |
Me cago en diez | “I shit on 10” |
Me cago en tu madre | “I shit on your mother” |
Me cago en tus muertos | “I shit on your dead” |
Barcelona football player Gerard Piqué famously got sent off the field for saying to an assistant referee, “Me cago en tu puta madre” (“I shit on your whore mother”).
Hijo de las mil putas
Just one of many Spanish insults designed to insult your mother, this translates to “son of a thousand whores,” which is a much more emphatic version of the English “son of a bitch.”
Pollas en vinagre
Translated as “dicks in vinegar” or “pickled dicks” (an image no one really wants in their head), the expression pollas en vinagre is used to call bullshit on what someone else is saying. A close English equivalent would be, “Yeah, right.”
Me importa un pepino
![One Spanish saying translates to “I care a cucumber.”](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/w_480/images/GettyImages/mmsport/mentalfloss/01j24xqycahgrx7w6753.jpg)
An adorable way of saying, “I don’t give a damn,” this phrase literally translates to “I care a cucumber.”
Que te folle un pez
Another nonsensical yet amusing insult, que te folle un pez, translates to “I hope you get fucked by a fish,” which is a very creative way to say “go fuck yourself” to someone.
Que te la pique un pollo
Similar to the phrase above, que te la pique un pollo is used to say “fuck you” or “fuck off” to someone. It literally translates to “I hope a chicken pecks it,” where the it in question is implied to mean “your dick.” Ouch.
Vete a freír espárragos
![If someone wants you to get lost in Spain, they might use a phrase that translates to “go fry asparagus.”](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/w_480/images/GettyImages/mmsport/mentalfloss/01j24xshkqxfvkjxf5vg.jpg)
A more PG way to say “get lost” is vete a freír espárragos (“go fry asparagus”). The phrase is said to have originated in the 19th century when asparagus was typically cooked by boiling. Fried asparagus wasn’t valued in the kitchen and would have taken much longer, so it was considered a pointless activity. Another version of this is andá a freír churros (“go fry churros”).
Hostia
Hostia, which has its roots in Catholicism, means “host” or “Communion bread,” but when used as a swear, it typically means “holy shit.” A more forceful phrasing is hostia puta, which is more like “holy fuck.”
Te voy a dar una galleta
![If someone says they’re “going to give you a cookie” in Spanish, you’ll actually be getting something less delicious.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/w_480/images/GettyImages/mmsport/mentalfloss/01j24xx8rx9t0sspdj8c.jpg)
This phrase, which translates to “I’m going to give you a cookie,” might seem like a pleasant offer, but don’t be fooled—you won’t be getting a delicious baked good. It actually means, “I’m going to give you a slap.” An alternative version is te voy a dar una hostia.
Eres tan feo/a que hiciste llorar a una cebolla
Onions are well known for their ability to make people cry when they cut into them—but the phrase eres tan feo/a que hiciste llorar a una cebolla flips the script: It translates as “you’re so ugly you made an onion cry.”
Eres más feo/a que pegarle a un padre
Eres más feo/a que pegarle a un padre is another looks-based insult, but it gives the user a bit more opportunity for creativity. While it literally translates to “you are uglier than hitting your father,” it’s often followed up with extra details. Some variations involve con un calcetín sudado (“with a sweaty sock”) or en Navidad (“at Christmas”).
Más corto/a que las mangas de un chaleco
Literally translated as “shorter than the sleeves of a vest,” más corto/a que las mangas de un chaleco is used to insult someone’s intelligence, as corto (“short”) is also Spanish slang for “stupid.” The closest English equivalent to this would be the phrase as thick as two short planks.
Más tonto/a que mear contra el viento
Another option for insulting someone’s intelligence, the phrase más tonto/a que mear contra el viento translates to “stupider than pissing against the wind,” which conjures up a very messy and unpleasant image.
La concha de la lora
![‘La concha de la lora’ is used as a curse in Spanish.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/w_480/images/GettyImages/mmsport/mentalfloss/01j24y0tfhaf95ac6s1y.jpg)
Predominantly used in Argentina, this expression translates to “the shell of a female parrot,” i.e., its genitals. The phrase dates back to the early 20th century when lora was also commonly used to refer to a sex worker, so the phrase can also refer to her genitalia (although it’s translated in a much more vulgar way). La concha de la lora can be used as an exasperated exclamation, like “Fuck!” or it can also be used to describe something really far away, like the English phrase ass end of nowhere.
No me toques los huevos
The literal translation of this phrase is “don’t touch my eggs,” but huevos is often used euphemistically in Spanish to refer to testicles. Therefore, this phrase is the equivalent of the English “don’t bust my balls,” used when you want someone to leave you alone. Alternative translations could be “get off my back” or “stop pissing me off.”
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